Tech News

The 9/11 Memorial App Will Be An iPad Exclusive

The ten-year anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing is approaching fast and writer-director Steve Rosenbaum is preparing his 9/11 Memorial app to commemorate this occasion. Rosenbaum made a semi-controversial decision to develop the 9/11 Memorial: Past, Present and Future app for the iPad only. Rosenbaum believes the iPad “was simply the best device on … Continued

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British used bioweapon in US War of Independence

A document has just gone on display at Mount Vernon, Virginia – the museum in the former home of George Washington, first US President. It is an order dated 1777 and signed by Washington himself to send troops that had not been vaccinated for smallpox – or survived it – to Philadelphia to be vaccinated. … Continued

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A brief history of the ancient science of sword making

The sword is the perennial symbol of empires, knighthood, chivalry and fantasy. But it’s also one of the world’s most ancient technologies, connected with breakthroughs in metallurgy that would change the world. There are even some types of ancient swords so strong that modern science still can’t determine how they were made. How is a … Continued

ScienceSpace & Spaceflight

The Skylab I Never Knew

Remember the space age? It wasn’t that long ago. This illustration from Peter Fairley’s 1970 Space Annual is a great line drawing, but moreover reminds me of the wonder and awe we used to have for the space program. That seems to have faded now, along with the space program itself. I remember as a … Continued

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Mass grave reveals 1,000 year old Viking massacre

And no, not the type of massacre where Vikings go around killing people: these Vikings were brutally killed by Englishmen ten centuries ago. It’s the first archaeological evidence of an anti-Viking mass slaughter known as the St. Brice’s Day Massacre. At least 35 skeletons were discovered in 2008 on the grounds of Oxford’s St. John’s … Continued

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Teddy Roosevelt murdering Sasquatch and FDR’s mecha: the most insane presidential portraits you’ve ever seen

Artist Jason Heuser is on a quest to commemorate those great moments in presidential history that never happened, like Old Hickory’s defeat of an extraterrestrial army and Teddy the Trust-Buster busting up some Bigfoots. Heuser is selling prints of these pieces on Etsy. These fine portraits truly deserve a hallowed corner in the Hall of … Continued

Tech News

Graphic Images Depict the Brutal Consequences of an Historical Global Conflict

In Focus’s latest tribute to World War 2, called Daring Raids and Brutal Reprisals, is perhaps the most stomach-turning yet. Graphic content awaits, but this is war. You should know that already. The comparatively tame image above depicts one of the 16 bombers that took part in the famous Doolittle Raid. While the raid was … Continued

Tech News

30 Years Ago Today, IBM Released Its First PC Before Most People Had Any Idea What that Meant

No matter how you’re reading this, you’re reading it on a device unfathomably more powerful than the 4.77 Mhz IBM 5150 PC. But 30 years ago, that machine was so powerful, it defined what PC meant for the entire world. In 1981, the desktop computer was still mostly relegated to the business world. But it … Continued

Tech News

55 Years Ago, the Founder of HP Apologized for Knowing Nothing About Computers

When he was the Provost of Stanford (before being credited as the Father of Silicon Valley), tech legend Frederick Terman wanted to help the Army acquire a computer. So, he turned to HP’s Bill Hewlett. Problem: Bill was totally clueless. To be fair, this was a decade before HP debuted their first computer—at the time, … Continued

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5000-year-old carving depicts Egypt’s earliest known pharaoh

The pharaohs ruled Egypt for over three thousand years, and the story of the very last pharaoh – you might know her as Cleopatra – is famous to this day. But what about the very first pharaohs? It’s hard to comprehend just how long-lived the Egyptian state really was. It will be another thousand years … Continued

io9Television

Thank You, Lucy, for Practically Inventing Watchable TV

Legendary comedienne Lucille Ball would’ve turned 100 today. May she rest in peace. Google’s even got a fresh new doodle in her honor, with the video up top featured within. But Lucy did more than just play a TV housewife. Actually, she and the I Love Lucy show were groundbreaking in their own right. Apart … Continued

Tech News

Even The Civil War Had Tourists

If it was 1861 and you knew there was a big land battle in the neighboring town of Manassas, VA, what would you do? You would grab your telescope, pack up the family carriage, and check it out, of course. History podcaster Nate DiMeo tells the story of these Civil War tourists who traveled over … Continued

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The Sordid Secrets of Invisible Ink

People have always wanted to communicate privately. There once was a time when regular ink was secret enough, because not much of the world knew how to read. Then literacy ruined it for everyone, and drastic steps had to be taken. Enter invisible ink, the way to keep what was written secret, sometimes by unsavory … Continued

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A theory that could finally explain how the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built

There are many theories about how the Great Pyramid in Egypt was constructed, ranging from UFOs to elaborate ramps and machines. But none has ever fully explained how mere human effort could raise such an incredible structure. Until now. A French architect named Jean-Pierre Houdin has used 3D modeling software, combined with rigorous study of … Continued

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The first weather forecast was made 150 years ago today

People have been talking about the weather since time immemorial, but it wasn’t until August 1, 1861 that someone finally decided to put his daily predictions into writing. And here’s the really crazy thing: the first report was actually correct. Weather prediction goes back well over two thousand years, with the ancient Chinese and Babylonians … Continued

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Tree DNA tests prove that Benjamin Franklin isn’t ruining the Gulf Coast

Much of the southeastern US is struggling with Chinese tallow trees, an invasive species that is overrunning the Gulf Coast and wreaking havoc on the natural habitat. And, until now, people figured it was that big jerk Benjamin Franklin’s fault. While Franklin was living in Europe, he arranged to have some of these tallow trees … Continued

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Ten Delightfully Weird Museums

Most of us spent some chunk of our formative years in one museum or another. Scifi addicts are no strangers to the pleasures of accumulation, organization, and presentation of knowledge (not to mention obsessive collections of stuff). Sometimes that knowledge is of a broad subject which is well-regarded. Sometimes it’s a little more niche-oriented. Have … Continued

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The Lost City of Pompeii: Pictures of an Alien World, Frozen in Time

In the year 79 AD, Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius erupted with superheated ash that rained fiery death on several Roman cities nearby. But none was hit harder than vacation town Pompeii, which was buried in a thick layer of broiling ash in a matter of seconds. That ash killed over 1,000 people instantly and buried the … Continued

Tech News

People Have Been Faking Photographs Since the 1800s

Think we’re the only ones with the advanced tools to tamper with photos. Think again as this craft actually extends back to the early days of photography. Image forensics website FourAndSix has an entire section dedicated to photo tampering throughout history. Believe it or not, some of our most iconic photographs from the 1800s are … Continued

Tech News

Bill Gates Spent the Best Money of His Life 30 Years Ago Today

Break out the beer, MS-DOS turns 30 today. On July 27, 1981, Microsoft purchased QDOS from Seattle Computer Products. It was kind of a good deal. When IBM came to Microsoft asking for a 16-bit operating system, the company had to scramble to get one together. Rather than writing a new one from the ground … Continued